Hanuman flying with the mountain containing the Sanjivani herb is one of the permanently etched scenes in the readers from the Ramayana. It is widely believed that the mountain Hanuman carried to save the life of Lakshman was sliced from the DunagiriMountain in Uttarakhand. A gash can be seen in the mountain, near DunagiriVillage, which gives a feel that the mountain was sliced.

Hanuman came to Dunagiri searching for the Sanjivani, but he could not spot right plant, so he flew with a part of DunagiriMountain. Even today, the slopes of Dunagiri contain innumerable medicinal herbs and is noted for its floral and faunal diversity.

As Hanuman was flying with the mountain, clumps of the mountain fell at numerous places. Sacred groves appeared at the places where the chunk fell. Several holy groves like the Maruthuva Malai in Tamil Nadu are believed to have formed from the chunks that fell from DunagiriMountain.

Nanda Devi, the presiding deity of the region, was not happy with Hanuman’s act. She rules the mountains here and her permission was not sought. She ordered that Hanuman should not be worshipped in the region. But the people here could not neglect Hanuman who is the epitome of loyalty and devotion. So they neglected her order but some people here still do not accept the ‘prasad’ from Hanuman temple.

Another legend has it that Hanuman took the help of an old lady in DunagiriVillage to identify the right mountain. He flew with her and she navigated him to the right mountain. In a hurry, Hanuman simply thanked the woman and flew with the slice of mountain, leaving the old lady at the mountain top. The people here were disappointed with him and some don’t take the ‘prasad’ offered.